1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a speed change apparatus of a vehicle including a gear transmission, a shift lever device arranged in a zone where a driver on a driver's seat can operate the shift lever device, and an operation force transmission mechanism for transmitting an operation force of the shift lever device to the gear transmission.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 12 shows a shift lever device according to a conventional art described in JP Laid-open Publication No. 2006-082737. A shift′ lever 301 is turnable in a forward and rearward direction and in a right and left direction by two lever shafts 310, 311. The two lever shafts 310,311 are at right angles to one another. The shift lever 301 is connected to a shift device in a gear transmission (not shown) through a push pull cable 302. The shift device in the transmission is provided with a detent mechanism for holding a shift shaft at a shift position. FIG. 13 shows a plan view of the shift panel 303 of FIG. 12, a shift groove 305 is formed in a shape having a plurality of bended portions. The shift groove 305 is provided with a plurality of engaging recesses 305a for engaging with the shift lever 301. The engaging recesses 305a are formed at a reverse position (R), a neutral position (N), a forward traveling high-speed position (H), and a forward traveling low-speed position (L).
In the case that the shift lever 301 is positioned and held at each of the shift positions only by the shape of the shift groove 305, it is required that the shift lever 301 is turnable in the two directions. Therefore, shift lever device becomes large and complex. In particular, in the case that a push pull cable is provided as an operation force transmission mechanism, even if a detent mechanism is provided in the shift device, a difference will easily occur between the a turning position of the shift lever and a moving position of the shift shaft in the transmission. Therefore, it is required to make the shape of the shift groove complex as mentioned above. Moreover, it takes time and effort to adjust the turn position of the shift lever 301.